Surviving New Years
by Problem Child1
Summary: The Elder Gilmore's annual New Year's Eve party. FinnRory.


Disclaimer: Amy and Daniel Palladino, along with the rest of the WB, own Gilmore Girls. I'm just borrowing the characters.

A/N2: Wow! I'm on a roll this week! I feel special. Yes, another Finn/Rory story. What can I say? They're my 'ship. I'm trying to get everyone else to love it. Am I doing a good job?

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Rory sighed and looked at her watch for the third time in ten minutes. It was 9:22, three hours until she could leave, considering if she ever saw her mom or Luke again. Her grandmother was throwing a New Year's Eve party, one neither of them could get out of. Lorelai had brought Luke as a "distraction", as she'd so eloquently put it, and the two were being introduced around the party. That left Rory stranded, making awkward small talk with whom ever stumbled upon her and decided to try and befriend her.

"You look as bored as I feel," a voice from behind her said, breaking into her thoughts.

Rory whirled around, a hand to her heart. "Jeez, you scared me!" She eyed the culprit. "Finn?"

"The lady remembers," he joked lightly.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

He gestured around broadly. "Why, enjoying the festivities, of course. Are you for auction again, or had your dowry already been given to someone else? Logan Hutzenberger, perhaps?"

Rory laughed. "I never did see his reaction on that one."

"He had a coronary and stopped breathing for a total of two minutes. In my professional opinion, that was one well thought out prank." He grabbed two champagne flutes off the tray of a passing waiter, and handed one to Rory. "A toast, to your excellent rebuttal." They lifted their flutes up. "Cheers."

"Cheers," she echoed, clinking her glass with Finn's before taking a drink. Finn, on the other hand, downed his in one try. "You never answered my question."

"What question?"

"What're you doing here?" she repeated for him.

"Yes I did," he informed her.

"At my grandparents' house," she clarified. "Where're Logan and Colin? Or the rest of the LDB?"

Finn leaned in a little closer and dropped his voice down to a conspiratorial manner. "Incognito."

Rory nodded. "Which means?"

"They're at the Hutzenbergers, leaving little old me to fend for myself," he admitted. "There're a few here, but none that are really deserving of my time or effort."

"And you're not at the Hutzenberger's?"

"I have my reasons!" Finn defended. "The Hutzenbergers' aren't my best mates. For reasons that are beyond my comprehension, they seem to think that it is I who is always stealing their liquor."

"Isn't it?"

"Yes, but I think it's quite rude of them to go around accusing me of it," he pointed out. He suddenly rubbed his hands together and looked around. "Wanna go cook up our own fun?"

Rory took another sip of her champagne. "I'm afraid of what it might entail."

"Cowardly Lion, all you need is some courage," he teased.

She raised an eyebrow. "I take it this courage comes in liquid form?"

"Precisely!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand. "It's only the best kind of courage. You catch on quick."

"What about the champagne?" she held up her flute to emphasis her point.

Finn sighed dramatically. "I'm bored of champagne. It's so cliché."

"You learn something new everyday," she said sarcastically.

"Jello shots would be something exciting." He turned around suddenly and snapped his fingers. "I'll be your grandmother's planner for all her social engagements from now on!"

Rory held up a hand. "I'm going to stop you there. My grandmother would kill you if you were her party planner, and by not telling you this I would be assisting with a homicide, which looks bad on a resume."

Finn laughed. "You and I are going to get along famously, darling," he purred.

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They arrived at the pool house only to find it was locked.

"I need a bobby pin," Finn stated, running a finger over the lock.

"Why?" Rory questioned.

"Because I left all of mine at home," he replied with a straight face.

It was when Rory went to pull one out of her hair that she became acutely aware that she and Finn were still holding hands. She quickly withdrew her hand from his grasp, blushing slightly.

A few minutes and string of jumbled curse words later-some of which Rory was sure where in different languages- Finn had jimmied the door open. He gave her a lopsided grin and held his arm out for her to grab.

"Shall we, good lady?"

"We shall, kind gentleman."

Finn closed the door behind them and Rory turned on the light. Almost instantly, Luke and Lorelai jumped apart from each other guiltily, landing on opposite ends of the couch.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed.

"It was bad, Ror. Your grandparents introduced us to all of their stuffy old friends that seem to all remember me from twenty years ago, even though I officially know none of them, and then I had to make annoying chitchat. I hate chitchat. And everyone asked the same questions. They weren't even trying to change them anymore! It's one big conspiracy to get me to crack, I know it. Plus, Floyd was there. I saw him from across the room. Dad was trying to hide him, but he forgot that I can spot anyone I hate within a twenty mile radius of myself so I know to avoid them. It's just like when I was younger, only I'm not imaging David Lee Roth coming to rescue me," Lorelai concluded.

"Quit freaking out. Why'd you agree to come if you knew it'd be like this?" Rory questioned.

Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and slumped back in her seat like a child being chastised. "Because your grandmother played the 'I own your soul for life, you gotta do what I say' card."

"Luke?" Rory pleaded. "Calm her down, please."

He merely held his hands up. "I tried. I think I was doing a good job, too."

It was then that Lorelai noticed Finn. "Who's your lifeline?"

Rory looked baffled. "What?"

"The man you're clutching like you're Angelina Jolie at the Oscars." She pointed to Finn.

He took it upon himself to jump in at that point. "I'm Finn, Rory's gentleman caller. But I drive a hard bargain; I think I deserve three goats instead of the usual two if I must take her off your hands."

Lorelai grasped Finn's outstretched hand, amused. "I'm Lorelai and this is my boyfriend, Luke. And I'm sorry, but I think that you should be paying me to have Rory. Coffee or imported chocolates will do."

"I'll let Mr. Gilmore know about the renegotiations, I'm sure he'll be excited to hear them," he replied.

Lorelai sized him up. "You were at the party." Finn nodded in agreement.

"That's not a good thing," Rory muttered to him.

"Listen up, Valentino," Lorelai commanded. "You were at that party, which means you helped get my little girl drunk."

"It was all Logan," Finn blurted out.

Lorelai just arched an eyebrow. "Really? And I suppose Logan had a hand in this little B&E? If you weren't planning on getting Rory drunk again, do tell what you were doing bringing her here."

"Mom, this is Captain Finn," Rory explained.

Lorelai's mood lightened considerably. "You didn't say that. I loved your help with the moonshine," she said to Finn.

"We should go, leave you to whatever you were doing," Rory told her mom, leaning down to give her mom a kiss on the cheek.

Lorelai smiled wickedly. Luke shook his head. "They don't need to know."

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Once safely back in the house, Finn let out a breath. "That was your mum? She's-" He searched for the right word "-intense."

Rory laughed. "She's just protective of me. Not overly so, but you did get me drunk."

He shrugged. "Your boyfriend was a tool." He stopped suddenly. "Shit. Turn around. Fast."

Rory looked around wildly, but did as she was told. "What?"

"My parents. They've been trying to hook me up with girls all night," he explained, hiding his face slightly and walking faster.

"Finn!" a male voice called out.

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," he chanted, turning around and putting on his best smile. "'Ello, dad."

"Hello, Finn." He looked at Rory. "Who's this?"

Rory held out her hand. "Lorelai Gilmore. I'm Finn's girlfriend. Surely he's told you about me."

Finn shot a look at Rory. "No, I haven't. Sorry, baby."

Rory bit her lip to bite back a snicker. "You haven't? I've told my mom all about you." She turned to Finn's father. "In fact, I was just going to introduce him to my grandmother. Sorry about this. I wish we could have more time together."

They left Finn's dad looking quite baffled as to what was going on. "I owe you my life," Finn muttered to her.

"Well, I guess that's good if you still want to become my grandmother's party planner," she joked.

"Ok, now I need liquor. Come on, let's go to the kitchen." He steered her around the house, looking for the kitchen. "I give up, where is it?"

Rory pointed to a set of swinging doors. "Through there. But can't you just get some from the bartender?"

He shook his head. "No use. Bugger knows my age."

"How old are you? I thought you were 21."

"Ah, there's your fatal mistake. While Logan and Colin are 21, I'm the baby of the group. I'm only 20. I turn 21 in a month," he corrected her.

"Well, they don't keep their liquor in the kitchen," Rory explained.

"Damn." Finn sat down on the stairs. "This party is bloody boring. Do your grandparents have a TV somewhere in this house?"

Rory pulled him up. "Yeah, up in my room there's one."

Finn started snickering as soon as they stepped into her room. "It's pink. And there's pictures of Justin Timberlake. Who designed your room? Dakota Fanning?"

Rory shoved him lightly. "My grandmother. She doesn't understand a lot, and I haven't spent enough time here to change it."

He jumped on the bed and folded his arms behind his head. "The bed's comfy though." He gave her a suggestive and exaggerated wink.

She rolled her eyes and turned it on to NBC, settling down next to Finn. "No Dick Clark. Plus Ashlee Simpson is co-hosting."

"Nah, she pre-recorded all her lines. She's just moving her lips now, waiting for the paycheck," he explained.

"Nice jab," Rory commented sardonically.

"I try. What time is it?"

Rory looked at her watch. "11:10."

Finn nodded his head. "50 minutes. We can do this. Who're you kissing at midnight?"

Rory looked thrown off at the question. "What?"

"It's tradition. You gotta kiss somebody. You want good luck this year, right?"

"Well, um, no one, I guess."

Finn laughed. "Really? That'll be hard considering I'm gonna kiss you."

Rory gasped. "What?"

"Don't look so scandalized."

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It was five minutes until midnight. On the TV screen, Regis was spewing gibberish that Finn and Rory were only half listening to. They were both sitting on her bed, playing cards.

"I'll be nice." Finn held up his fingers in the universal Boy Scout symbol.

Rory laughed. "You were a boy scout?"

"No," he admitted. "But it's still the same no matter what."

She shook her head. "Fine. The devil has a golden tongue, I guess."

They played one more game of speed, and then Finn got up. He took Rory's hands in his and pulled her up also. "Ready to count down?" he asked.

"Sure."

"10," they counted together. "9, 8, 7, 6, 5-"

Rory stole a glance at Finn. "4, 3, 2, 1."

"Happy New Year!" the two yelled.

Finn leaned down and kissed her lightly. Rory gasped, surprised at how natural it felt to have Finn kiss her. He took that opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his encircled her waist, pulling her as close to himself as possible.

They only broke the kiss when breathing became an issue. Finn leaned his forehead against hers. His breath was heavy and ragged.

"Happy New Year," he whispered.

"Happy New Year," she replied, leaning up to kiss him again.


End file.
